Starting School

It's that time of year again when talk on education / parenting blogs turns to the issue of starting school or going back to school - we've written here in the past about planning for starting school / class transitions.

So what are our top tips for preparing for school?

• Encourage your child to speak clearly and ask for what is needed, using ‘please’ and ‘thank you’
• Check they can go to the toilet alone and flush the toilet
• Get them to answer the question "what is your name?"
• Practice tidying up toys after use and sharing things and taking turns
• Leave them in the care of others for a few hours
• Make sure they answer questions with words rather than shrugs and nods
• Practice doing up and undoing fastenings on clothes (buttons etc.)
• Check they can open their lunch box / unwrap food or use cutlery
• Share lots of stories - get them to sit and listen to a story and encourage them to handle and enjoy books
• Start to get them to hold a pencil / crayon and do 'mark making'
• Encourage your child to know the names of lots of everyday items and understand their uses
• Talk to your child whilst things are happening and encourage your children to ask questions
• Tell stories about what you enjoyed at school and the fun things you did.
• Use colouring activities like these printable school colouring pictures on Netmums to encourage your child to start thinking about school.
• Build a school with your child from cardboard boxes or play-bricks, and role play schools (or get them to teach their teddies)
• Read some books about starting school, including Topsy and Tim Start School, Starting School, First Experiences: Going to School, Do I have to Go to School? and (the ever popular Charlie and Lola) I Am Too Absolutely Small for School
• Walk or drive to school together so your child gets to know the route (note how long it takes so you leave in plenty of time on the first day!)

Is your child starting school this year? Please comment and tell us about your experiences.

Starting School

Good luck to all children (and parents - we know how hard it is for you too!) who are starting school this week. Don't forget that Littlesheep Learning has lots of resources to help your child - here are our top five recommended products for the rising-5s (as tested by our nearly-5 year old!)

1. First Experiences: Going to School - this mini Usborne book is a lovely gift for a child starting school to explain what happens in school.
2. Key Word Fridge Magnets - a great tool for learning key words (we stock the large size as we think they are more easily manipulated by small fingers) .
3. Number Beanie Bags - fun for all sorts of games to learn about numbers (and reading the written number word).
4. Triangular Pencil (Slim) - a help for children to ensure they form the correct triangular pencil grip when learning to write (we also stock the Jumbo size pencil for children needing a bigger pencil).
5. Picture Word Lotto - a brilliant game for reading skills, matching skills, turn-taking and best of all fun!

Changes / Transitions

Things are constantly changing and there are lots of changes that children experience during their lifetime. Either positively or negatively our four year old is going to have several changes over the next few months; first he's going to gain a new sibling, then he is going to move house and then he is going to start school.

Over the next few weeks there will be a series of posts on this blog about these transitions and how to prepare children for the changes they will experience - do let me know if you have any experiences / information to share!

The changes will also be affecting us here at Littlesheep Learning due to the maternity leave and relocating, your orders maybe slightly delayed from our usually quick despatch. We will also be having a Sale over the next month or so to reduce stock for our move. Unfortunately this move means that some items will be out of stock for longer than usual, please contact us if you need something that is out of stock and we will try and let you know an expected restocking date.

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Planning for Starting School / Class Transitions

I had an email from a friend who has a child with ASD about how to prepare him for the changes in work from play based learning in Reception to the more formal learning in Year 1. Replying to her email reminded me of some of the transition support work I have done in preparing children for school / new classes and I thought I would share some ideas to help ensure that the move anxiety free.

Firstly, preparation is the key to smooth transitions. Some children will need more preparation than others so work out your own plan in conjunction with your school and other professionals working with your child (as appropriate).

One of the best ways to prepare a child for the new term is to visit the school and meet the teacher and other children, this is usually organised by the school at the end of the summer term or first thing in September as part of a gradual transition to full time schooling. If formal visits are not possible, taking the child to see the school (even just to drive past it!) will help make it a ‘real’ place.

If possible take photos the building, the classroom, the toilets, the library, the dining hall, the teachers / teaching assistants and anything else of interest. These can be made into a personalised 'starting school' / 'moving to year 1 (etc)' book. This personalised book can also include 'rules' as appropriate, for example, we have to be quiet in the library, we hang our coats on our peg, class x can play on the climbing frame on Wednesdays and we take turns on the computer.

It is important that the adults (teachers, parents, carers and other family members) connected to the child starting school are positive about the prospects of the experience, however it is also important to allow the child to express their fears and concerns. Books, for example, the Usborne First Experiences: Starting School or role playing school with favourite toys / puppets may help a child understand the process.

Another task that might help your child prepare for school is taking them ‘school shopping’, being taken to get their new school clothes, shoes and bags it can help build excitement about the experience and being able to chose items will add empowerment.

In the period before starting school, other skills that might be worth practicing include self-help skills - dressing, toileting and feeding, following routines and playing with similar toys to those used in school.

To prepare children who are already have specialist support in school, find out whether their support workers will be staying the same or changing next term. Evaluate the strategies used this year and look at how they can be implemented in the new classroom setting, for example, if the child was allowed to have quiet time out in a side room is there the space for this to occur in the new room? If the child sat for carpet time on a specific cushion / space - can this be transferred to the new class? Don't forget to ensure that angled writing boards and other specialist equipment is moved into the new class before the start of term.

September 2006 News

Back to School - September is the time for the return to school, whether you are preparing for the first day at nursery or a new school or returning Littlesheep Learning would like to wish you good luck and a happy and successful year.

Please take a look at our special selection of back to school items in our Seasonal section including the popular Usborne First Experiences title Going to School.

We also have a link to the BBC 'step up to nursery' and 'step up to school' online magazines from our News page which contain lots of information about learning and contain vouchers for money off popular BBC children's magazines.